At least some American officials knew that Dahud Hanid Ortiz had been convicted of a triple murder when he was put on the plane to the United States.

Ten Americans and permanent U.S. residents detained in Venezuela were traded for more than 250 Venezuelans expelled from the U.S. and imprisoned in El Salvador.

The three-judge panel has allowed the case to languish in a kind of legal limbo, catching the eye of some legal experts.